The contents of this blog are ours personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps. Now that that's out of the way...
Saturday, June 9, 2012
An Attempt at Art
Hey all. I think the time has come where I can begin to see Burkina with an artist's eye, to begin to comment on what I see here. Perhaps it is the artist's folly to say he has created art, but there it is. Before delving into the human part of this, I have began with an (arguably) easier subject; nature. This is for various reasons.
Firstly, technology here is at the awkward stage where it is widely known of, but hard to acquire. This means that pulling out a camera, say, is an act that can set you apart. For example, during the hour or so that I was out taking these pictures, a man came up to me, and without going into any of the usual greetings, asked me how much my camera costs. This camera is a Kodak C340 digital camera that I inherited from my grandparents five years ago and which they in turn had used for awhile. It's a nice camera and fits my needs perfectly but is not the newest model by any means. To this man I said, honestly, that I didn't know, that it was old. He went on to say that I should give it to him when I leave, and continued to insist on it despite my repeated jokes and refusals.
I should say that this is quite common here, but as a joke. People will tell you your shirt is nice and tell you to give it to them. You pretend to take it off, they laugh, you laugh, it's over. It's a compliment. But sometimes it goes further and it's in these situations things can get tricky. Usually if you stick to the joke line, they'll take the hint. With this man, however, I had to walk away.
Secondly, some people take offense to having their pictures taken. Rightly so, and it is always necessary to ask people's permission before taking a picture. While I was taking the picture of the bricks drying in the sun, a man yelled to me that they belonged to him and said I should pay for taking the picture. This is ridiculous. I told him it was just a picture and I could erase it if he liked. Luckily he didn't press the issue. Another half-joke.
So you see why I started with subjects that can't directly ask me for money or take offense. Anyway, here is the link to the "show" in my flickr "gallery." Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mollyquixote/sets/72157630024716633/
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Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteLove your photos of the textures. Sounds and looks like you are doing alright.
Many hugs,
Cat